Outfit support

ABSTRACT

An apparatus provides a reflection of a user&#39;s face in a head region of an outfit support such that the user can see an approximation of what he or she would look like wearing the outfit. In some embodiments, the outfit support includes a head portion and a body portion, the body portion having one or more outfit attachment elements to attach the outfit to the outfit support. 
     A mirror may be on the head portion. The outfit support may include one or more wall fasteners to attach the outfit support to a wall. An outfit (e.g., clothing or a representation of clothing) may be attached to the outfit support.

FIELD

The disclosed embodiments are generally directed to outfit supports.

BACKGROUND

Outfit supports, sometimes referred to as valets, are typically used tostore and display a piece of clothing to assist a user in gettingdressed. In some examples, the valet may include a mirror.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes an outfit supporthaving a head portion and a body portion, one or more wall fasteners toattach the outfit support to a wall, an outfit to attach to the outfitsupport, and a mirror on the head portion. The body portion has one ormore outfit attachment elements to attach an outfit to the outfitsupport,

According to another embodiment, an apparatus includes an outfit supporthaving a torso portion, two arm portions and a head portion, one or morefasteners to attach the outfit support to a surface; and a mirror on thehead portion. The position of the torso portion and head portion on thesurface is adjustable while the outfit support is mounted to thesurface. e

According to still another embodiment, a method of viewing a user and anoutfit is disclosed. The method includes placing an outfit on an outfitsupport having a head portion and a body portion, the outfit supportbeing mounted to a wall, and looking at a mirror on the head portion toview a reflection of a user's face while the outfit is attached to theoutfit portion.

According to yet another embodiment, an apparatus includes an outfitsupport having a head portion and a body portion, a mirror on the headportion, means for attaching the outfit support to the wall, and meansfor attaching an outfits to the outfit support.

It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additionalconcepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination,as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

The foregoing and other aspects, embodiments, and features of thepresent teachings can be more fully understood from the followingdescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 a perspective view of an outfit support according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 shows the outfit support of FIG. 1, with an exploded view of anarm portion;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an outfit support with an attachedoutfit and sign;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a backside of the outfit shown in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of an outfit support attached to a surface;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG.5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a height of an outfit supportbeing adjusted while the outfit support is attached to a surface;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a vertical length of an outfitsupport being adjusted while the outfit support is attached to asurface; and

FIG. 9 is another schematic illustration of a vertical length of anoutfit support being adjusted while the outfit support is attached to asurface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Outfit supports, sometimes referred to as valets, are typically used tostore and display a piece of clothing (e.g., to assist a user inselecting an outfit to wear). For example, a valet may include adouble-sided doll over which a piece of clothing may be draped forviewing by the user. In some examples, the valet may include a mirror.

According to one aspect disclosed herein, an outfit support allows auser to view a reflection of his face and an outfit while the outfit isattached to the outfit. Such an arrangement permits the user to seeherself or himself associated with an outfit or costume without havingto don the outfit or costume. In some cases, the apparatus may be usedfor self-motivation, for example, as part of performing a motivationalexercise. For example, in some embodiments, a sign with motivationaltext or images, such as a positive trait about the user, may be attachedto the outfit support for viewing by the user. In such embodiments, whenthe user looks at the outfit support, he not only views himself wearingthe outfit, he also views himself holding the motivational text orimages. In other cases, the apparatus may be used to approximate how onewould look in a certain outfit or with certain colored fabric.

To that end, embodiments disclosed herein include an outfit support withoutfit attachment elements to attach the outfit to the outfit support,fastening elements to attach the outfit support to a surface (e.g., awall), and a mirror on the outfit support. For purposes herein, anoutfit may include a piece of clothing that a user may wear, such as acostume or a jacket. However, the outfit need not be wearable by theuser. For example, the outfit may include a representation of an outfit,such as a piece of fabric resembling a piece of clothing, that the usermay attach to the outfit support.

In some embodiments, the outfit support may include head and bodyportions, with the mirror on the head portion. As will be appreciated,in such embodiments, the outfit support may have a shape that resemblesa shape of a person. In some embodiments, the mirror may be permanentlyattached to the outfit support, although it also may be removablyattached.

According to some aspects, the outfit support is configured to beadjustable while attached to the surface. For example, a user may adjusta height of the outfit support so that it corresponds to a height of theuser. When used for a child, the height adjustment allows for theapparatus to grow with the child. For purposes herein, the height of theoutfit support may mean a vertical distance from a bottom of the surface(e.g., from the floor) to a top of the outfit support. As will beappreciated, in such embodiments, the height (e.g., vertical position)of the outfit support may be adjusted without adjusting the size (e.g.,the vertical length) of the outfit support.

In other embodiments, the size (e.g., vertical length) of the outfitsupport may be adjusted. For example, the vertical length of outfitsupport may be increased or decreased so that the vertical length of theoutfit support corresponds to the height of the user. In suchembodiments, as will be appreciated, as the vertical length of theoutfit support changes so does the vertical position of the top of theoutfit support. In some embodiments, the length of the outfit supportmay be adjustable while the outfit support is attached to the surface.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows an outfit support 100 accordingto one aspect. As shown in this figure, the outfit support 100 includesa body portion 102 and head portion 104. In some embodiments, as shownin this figure, the body portion 102 may include a torso portion 106,two arm portions 108, and two leg portions 110. The body portion alsomay include foot portions 112 and hand portions (not shown). As will beappreciated, in such embodiments, the shape of the outfit support maycorrespond to a shape of a person.

In some embodiments, the outfit support does not have the shape of aperson. For example, although the body portion is shown with two armsportions and two leg portions, the body portion may have only two armportions or only two leg portions. In other embodiments, the bodyportion may have no discernible arm or leg portions. That is, the bodymay have a single, elongated body portion, e.g., a rectangular oroval-shaped body portion, and an outfit attached to the outfit supportmay give the appearance of a body shape.

In some embodiments, the body portion is integrally formed. For example,the arm portions, the torso portion, the leg portions and any foot orhand portions may be formed as a single, unitary piece. In otherembodiments, the sections of the body portion may be hingedly orotherwise movably attached to one another such that the arm portionsand/or the leg portions, for example, may be folded on top of the torsoportion for storage.

In other embodiments, one or more sections of the body portion may beremovably attachable to other sections of the body portion. In suchembodiments, the outfit support may be modular, such that a user mayselect different arm portions, for example, a bent arm portion or astraight arm portion, or different leg portions to attach to the torsoportion. The user also may select different torso portions.

In one such embodiment, the torso portion may be removably attachable tothe leg portions. As shown in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, a bottom 107of the torso portion 106 may be received in a recess 114 formed betweenthe leg portions 110. In such an embodiment, the shape and size of thebottom 107 of the torso portion 106 may correspond to the shape and sizeof the recess 114 between the leg portions 110. For example, the bottomof the torso and recess formed between the leg portions are bothrectangular in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, thetorso portion 106 is attached to the leg portions 110 via one or morepins 116.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, the bottom of the torso portionmay include a laterally extending channel 118 that aligns with laterallyextending channels 120 in the leg portions 110. In such an embodiment,once the channels 118, 120 are aligned, the pin 116 may be inserted intoeach of the leg portions 110, on either side of the recess 114, untilthe pin 116 extends into the torso portion 106.

Although only one pin is used to attach each leg portion to the torsoportion, in other embodiments, two or more pins may be used to attacheach leg portion to the torso portion (e.g., via the bottom of the torsoportion). As will be appreciated, other suitable attachment elements maybe used to attach the torso to the leg portions.

In some embodiments, the arm portions 108 also may be removably attachedto the torso portion. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the arm portion108 may include a tab 122 that engages with a corresponding opening 124in the torso portion. The shape and size of the tab may correspond tothe shape and size of the corresponding opening. For example, if the tab122 on the arm portion 108 is cylindrical in shape, the correspondingopening 124 on the torso portion 106 also may be cylindrical.

Although only one tab and one corresponding opening is used to attacheach arm to the torso portion in FIG. 2, in other embodiments, two ormore tabs and corresponding openings may be used to attach each armportion to the torso portion. In such embodiments, the shape and size ofthe tabs and openings may be the same, although the shapes and sizes ofthe tabs and openings may vary between each pair of tabs andcorresponding openings. Additionally, while the tab is shown on the armportion and the corresponding opening is shown on the torso portion, inother embodiments, the torso portion may include a tab that engage witha corresponding opening on the arm portion. As will be appreciated,other suitable attachment portions also may be used for removablyattaching the arms to the torso portion.

In some embodiments, the position of the arm portion relative to thetorso portion may be adjusted by the user. As shown in FIG. 1, forexample, the user may have one upwardly-directed arm portion 108 and onedownwardly-directed arm portion 108. The user also may position both armportions 108 in a downward direction, as shown in FIG. 4, or mayposition both arm portions 108 in an upward direction (not shown). Aswill be appreciated, to change the direction of the arm portion 108, thearm portion 108 may be rotated (see the arrow labeled R in FIGS. 1-22)until the arm portion 108 is facing the desired direction, such asupwardly, downwardly or outwardly. Once in the desired direction, thearm portion 108 may be attached to the torso portion 106, such as byinserting the tab 122 into the corresponding opening 124 on the torsoportion 106.

In some embodiments, the head portion 104 is integrally formed with thebody portion 102. The head portion also may be hingedly or otherwisemovably attached to the body portion. In yet another embodiment, thehead portion may be removably attached to the body portion.

For example, the head and body portions may have one or more tabs andcorresponding openings for attachment, similar to the arm and torsoportions. The head portion also may be attached via another suitablemethod.

In some embodiments, the head portion may be circular in shape. As willbe appreciated, the head portion also may have other suitable shapes.For example, the head portion may be oval, rectangular, square, oranother shape.

According to another aspect, the outfit support is arranged to allow auser to view a reflection of his face such that that it appears that heis wearing the outfit attached to the outfit support. As shown in FIGS.1-2, in some embodiments, a mirror 126 may be attached to the outfitsupport 100 to allow the user to view his face's reflection. In suchembodiments, the mirror may have a circular shape, although the mirroralso may have other suitable shapes (e.g., oval, triangular,rectangular, or another suitable shape). As will be appreciated, themirror need not have the same shape as the head portion. For example,the head portion may be circular in shape while the mirror isoval-shaped.

Although a mirror is shown in FIGS. 1-2 for providing the a reflectionof the user's face, it will be appreciated that other suitable devicesmay be used to allow the user to view the reflection of his face. Forexample, in another embodiment, the head portion may include a camera(e.g., a digital video camera) that may display a live image of theuser's face on a screen on the head portion. As will be appreciated, inembodiments using such a camera, the camera also may be positioned atanother suitable location (e.g., on the wall above the outfit support).According to another aspect, the outfit support is arranged to displayan outfit to the user.

An example of the outfit 128 attached to the outfit support 100 isillustrated in FIG. 3. In such an embodiment, a representation of adress 128 a and a pair of boots 128 b has been attached to the body 102portion of the outfit support 100. That is, a piece of fabric that lookslike a dress and a pieces of fabric that look like the pair of bootshave been attached to the arm, torso, and leg portions. As will beappreciated, although an outfit with a dress and pair of boots is shownin FIG. 3, other outfit representations, like pants, shirts, skirtsand/or pajamas, may be attached. In other embodiments, in addition to(or in place of) the outfit representation, clothing worn by the usermay be attached to the outfit support.

Turning back to FIGS. 1-2, in some embodiments, the outfit support 100may have one or more outfit attachment elements on a front side of thebody portion 102 for attaching the outfit 128 to the outfit support 100.In one example, as is shown, the body portion 102 may include hook anloop fastening material 130 on the front side, with corresponding hookand loop fastening material 1302 on a back surface the outfit (see,e.g., FIG. 4). In some embodiments, the hook and loop fastening material130 may be located on the arm portions 108, the leg portions 110, andthe foot portions 112. When the outfit 128 is placed on the body portion102, the hook and loop fastening material 132 on the outfit 128 engageswith the corresponding hook and loop fastening material 130 on the bodyportion 102 to attached the outfit 128 to the outfit support 100.

As will be appreciated, the body portion need not have outfit attachmentelements on each of the shown locations. For example, attachmentelements may be positioned on just the arm portions. Attachment elementsalso may located on different areas of the body portion. For example,the attachment elements may be located on just the torso portion. Insome embodiments, the attachment portions are rectangular in shape, asis shown, although the attachment elements may have any suitable shapeand be any suitable size.

Although hook and loop fastening material has been shown to attach theoutfit to the outfit support (e.g., via body portion), other suitableattachment elements may be used. For example, in one embodiment, thefront side of the body portion may include hooks or clips, such asclothespins, to attach the outfit to the body portion. In someembodiments, the body portion may have more than one type of attachmentelement. For example, the body portion may have both clips and hook andloop fastening material. In such embodiments, the body portion may bearranged to attach different types of outfits. For example, the bodyportion may attach both clothing worn by the user, without hook and loopfastening material, and clothing representations that may have hook andloop fastening material. As will be appreciated, the attachment elementsmay be attached to the body portion via any suitable method, such aswith screws, nails, staples, glue, etc.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the outfit support 100 mayinclude attachment elements to attach a sign 134 with motivational textor images to the outfit support 100. For example, as show in FIG. 3, thearm portions 108 may include hooks 138 to attach the sign 134 havingmotivational text 136 to the arm portion. As will be appreciated, signalso may be attached to other portions of the outfit support. As will befurther appreciated, such hooks also may be used to attach other outfitaccessories, like purses and/or baseball gloves, to one or more armportions in other embodiments.

Although a sign is shown in FIG. 3, other signage, such as a banner,plaque, or another suitable display for displaying motivation text orimages, may be attached to the outfit support. For example, anelectronic tablet may be used to shuffle several motivational images ortexts for viewing by the user.

Although not shown, outfits also may be attached to the head portion ofthe outfit support. For example, the user may attach a hat, headband, oreven a representation of hair. As will be appreciated, the head portionmay include outfit attachment elements similar to those described withrespect to the body portion.

According to another aspect, the outfit support is arranged to beattached to a surface, such as a wall. For example, one or morefastening elements may be used to attach the outfit support to the wall.In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the outfit support 100 includesone or more openings 140 in the body portion (e.g., the torso portion)through which a fastening element, such as fastener 142, may be insertedto attach the outfit support to the wall 144. For example, the openingmay include a vertical slot in the torso portion. In such embodiments,the size of the opening may be smaller than a size an end of thefastener (e.g., the head of the screw), such that when the fastener isattached to the surface (e.g., screwed into the wall), the torso portionis held between the fastener (e.g., the head of the screw) and thesurface (see, e.g., FIG. 6).

In some embodiments, only the torso portion may be attached to thesurface. In other embodiments, the leg portions also may includeopenings through which fasteners 142 may be inserted to attach theoutfit support 100 to the wall 144. In such embodiments, the size andshape of the openings in the torso portion and in the leg portions maydiffer or may be the same. The number of openings in each portion alsomay be the same, although the also may differ.

Although openings and corresponding fasteners have been shown in FIGS.5-6 to attach the outfit support to the surface, other suitableattachment mechanisms may be used to attach the outfit support to thesurface. For example, a piece of hook and loop fastening material may beattached to the wall with corresponding hook and loop fastening materialon the rear side of the outfit support. The outfit support also may beattached via sliding brackets, via a hook and corresponding loop, or viaanother suitable method.

According to another aspect, the outfit support is configured to beadjustable, and in some embodiments, is configured to be adjustablewhile remaining attached to the wall or other surface.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the height (e.g., a verticalposition) of the outfit support may be adjusted so that it correspondsto a height of the user. In this manner, the outfit support may beraised when the user gets taller, or may be usable by people ofdifferent heights. As shown in FIG. 7, at left, when the outfit supportis first installed, the outfit support may be placed such that a bottomof the outfit support 100 (e.g., the foot portions 112) are adjacent tothe floor 146. In such an embodiment, the outfit support 100 ispositioned at a first height H1, corresponding to a distance between thefloor 146 and the top of the outfit support 100. In such an embodiment,as shown in FIG. 7, at left, the fasteners 142 may be located at a topof each opening 140.

In embodiments in which the outfit support is moved in an upwarddirection (see the arrow labeled A in FIG. 7), the top of the outfitsupport (e.g., the top of the head portion 104) is raised. As shown inFIG. 7, at right, in the raised positioned, the foot portions 112 of theoutfit support 100 no longer touch the floor 146 and the outfit support100 is positioned at a second height H2. In one embodiment, thefasteners 142 may be located at a bottom of the opening 140, with thedistance between the first and second heights corresponds to the lengthof the opening 140 in the body portion. That is, the distance betweenthe first and second heights H1, H2 corresponds to the distance traveledby the fasteners 142 between the top of the opening 140 and the bottomof the opening 140. As will be appreciated, in other embodiments, theoutfit support may be raised to a height in between the first and secondheights H1, H2.

As shown in FIG. 7, the height of the outfit support 100 may be adjustedwithout also adjusting the size of the outfit support. However, as shownin FIG. 8, the outfit support also may be configured such that the size(e.g., a vertical length) of the outfit support 100 can be increasedwhen the height is adjusted. In such an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8,the foot portions 112 of the outfit support 100 may remain adjacent thefloor 146 in both the initial and raised positions.

In some embodiments, to increase the length of the outfit support 100, atorso extension 148 or other insert is inserted in the recess 114between the leg portions, below the torso portion 106. As with the torsoportion 106, the torso extension 148 also may include laterallyextending channels 121 that may be aligned with laterally extendingchannels 118 in the leg portions. In such an embodiment, the torsoextension 148 (and the torso portion 106) may be attached to the legportions 110 via pins 116 that extend from the leg portions 110 into thetorso extension 148 (and torso portion 106).

Although a single torso extension 148 is shown in FIG. 8, at right, inother embodiments, two or more torso extensions 148 may be inserted intothe recess 114 between the leg portions 110. For example, as shown inFIG. 9, three torso extensions 148 may be inserted into the recess 114between the leg portions 110. As will be appreciated, in suchembodiments, pins 116 may be inserted into laterally extending channels121 in each torso 148 extension to attach the torso extensions 148 tothe leg portions 110. As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, theincrease in vertical length (as with the increase in height) correspondsto the distance travelled by the fasteners 142.

As will be appreciated, in other embodiments, the vertical length of thetorso portion 106 may be increased prior to mounting the outfit support100 to the surface. In such an embodiment, the increase in the verticallength of the torso portion need not be limited to the size of theopenings 140 in the torso portion 106 or the distance traveled by thefasteners 142.

According to another aspect, a method of viewing a user and an outfit isdisclosed. In some embodiments, the method includes placing an outfit onan outfit support having a head portion and a body portion, the outfitsupport being mounted to a surface (e.g., a wall) and looking at amirror on the head portion to view a reflection of a user's face whilethe outfit is attached to the outfit portion. In this manner, the usercan view herself as if she were wearing the outfit which is attached tothe outfit support. In some embodiments, the method further comprisesplacing a sign on the outfit support and looking at the mirror on thehead potion to view the reflection of the user's face while the sign isattached to the outfit support. In other embodiments, the method furthercomprises removing the outfit, placing a second outfit on the outfitsupport, and looking at the mirror on the head portion to view thereflection of the user's face while the second outfit is attached to theoutfit portion.

While the present teachings have been described in conjunction withvarious embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the presentteachings be limited to such embodiments or examples. On the contrary,the present teachings encompass various alternatives, modifications, andequivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way ofexample only.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising an outfit support having a head portion and a body portion, the body portion having one or more outfit attachment elements to attach an outfit to the outfit support; one or more wall fasteners to attach the outfit support to a wall; an outfit to attach to the outfit support; and a mirror on the head portion.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body portion comprises a torso portion and two arm portions.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the body portion comprises two leg portions.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mirror is removably attachable to the head portion.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a height of the outfit support on the wall is adjustable while the outfit support is attached to the wall.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a vertical length of the body portion is adjustable when the outfit support is attached to the wall.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outfit attachment elements comprise hook and loop fastening material.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outfit attachment elements comprise hook and loop fastening material attached to a front surface of the outfit support, and the outfit comprises complementary hook and loop fastening material on a back surface of the outfit.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outfit comprises a representation of a piece of clothing.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a sign on the body portion.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein one of the two arm portions comprises an attachment element to attach the sign.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more vertically-extending slot openings in the outfit support, wherein the wall fasteners are insertable into the one or more vertically-extending openings to attach the outfit support to the wall.
 13. An apparatus comprising: an outfit support having a torso portion, two arm portions and a head portion; one or more fasteners to attach the outfit support to a surface; and a mirror on the head portion; wherein the position of the torso portion and head portion on the surface is adjustable while the outfit support is mounted to the surface.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the outfit support further comprises two leg portions and two foot portions.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a height of the outfit support on the surface is adjustable while the outfit support is attached to the surface.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a vertical length of the torso portion is adjustable while the outfit support is attached to the surface.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the outfit comprises a representation of a piece of clothing.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising one or more attachment elements on the outfit support to attach an outfit to the outfit support.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the attachment elements comprise a hook and loop fastening material that attaches to complementary hook and loop fastening material on the outfit support. 20-25. (canceled) 